Ask five PMs about key product metrics, and you'll get five different answers. KPIs vary by product and stage, but every leader must monitor usage and outcomes to drive retention and revenue.

Success isn’t about vanity metrics like Twitter buzz and Discord members. Focus instead on sound Web3 growth metrics such as DAUs, ARPU, and retention. Measure your users’ onchain activity and product usage.

In this guide, you'll learn about the role of a Web3 product leader, key performance metrics, and tips to measure and optimize your Web3 app’s success.

Product Leader in Web3

A Product Leader in Web3 drives the strategy, development, and growth of Web3 products such as dApps, DeFi protocols, NFTs, and more. Unlike traditional product leaders, you navigate tokenomics, governance models, and community-driven growth, leveraging data to enhance your product experience.

Web3 product leadership isn’t just about managing a single dApp—it’s about driving growth, user adoption, and onchain engagement. Your key responsibilities include:

• Defining and communicating the product vision

• Developing and executing a Web3 product strategy

• Collecting and analyzing user and stakeholder feedback

• Managing and aligning cross-functional teams

Web3 product leadership demands adaptability and data-driven decision-making. Strong analytical skills help you interpret product and user data, optimize growth, and eliminate guesswork. Tools like Web3 product analytics help you drive better engagement, retention, and long-term growth.

Top 10 Web3 Product KPIs for Your Project

Here are the 10 key metrics every Web3 product leader should monitor:

1. Adoption

Adoption measures how many users interact with your dapp (product adoption) or specific features (feature adoption). Understanding adoption rates helps determine if users are deriving value from the product. 

How to Measure:

• Product Adoption measures user engagement through Monthly Active Users (MAU), Weekly Active Users (WAU), or Daily Active Users (DAU) in your product. Adoption can also be expressed as a rate relative to new user signups.

• Feature adoption measures user engagement with specific features. A common approach is to measure the percentage of features that generate 80% of the click volume.

After launching a feature, track adoption over 30 days to assess retention beyond initial interest. Measure at both the user and account levels to separate core users from those who may not need certain functionalities.

2. Stickiness

Stickiness measures how often users return to interact with your product, indicating its long-term value. Identifying highly engaged users helps refine onboarding, feature improvements, and enhance user experience.

How to Measure:
Stickiness is expressed as a ratio:

A higher ratio means users are returning frequently, which is important for community-driven Web3 products.

3. Growth

Growth is a core engagement metric, tracking net user acquisition and retention. Web3 products must ensure that new wallet signups translate into active participation. I

How to Measure:
The quick ratio captures growth efficiency

When the quick ratio exceeds 1.0, growth outpaces churn. Higher values indicate stronger, sustainable expansion.

4. Product Engagement Score (PES)

PES combines adoption, stickiness, and growth into one metric for assessing product health. By analyzing its components, you can identify specific areas for improvement, such as feature adoption or user retention, leading to better ROI.

How to Measure:

• Measure PES at both user (wallet) and account (DAO, guilds) levels

• Align PES tracking with onchain activity to monitor token holders, liquidity providers, or stakers

5. Time to Value (TTV)

TTV tracks how long it takes for a user to sign up and reach their first 'aha' moment—when they recognize your product’s value.  A slow TTV increases the risk of churn. 

How to Measure TTV

• Track engagement with Core Events (connect wallets, sign-ups, transactions)

• Measure the average, minimum, and maximum time users take to reach these events.

• Compare current vs. past TTV to identify trends.

6. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS measures user sentiment and loyalty by asking:
"How likely are you to recommend this Web3 product to a friend?"  (Scale: 0-10). 

Higher NPS correlates with strong word-of-mouth growth and retention. 

How to Measure NPS

• Promoters (9-10): Highly engaged community members

• Passives (7-8): Occasional users

• Detractors (0-6): Unhappy users (high likelihood of churn)

Track NPS across different user segments (DeFi traders, token holders, NFT collectors) to gain in-depth insights. 

7. Top Feature Requests

Feature requests provide qualitative insights that explain why users behave a certain way. By understanding user requests, teams can prioritize development efforts. 

How to Measure Feature Requests

• Collect feedback from your community (Discord, Telegram), social media (Twitter, Farcaster), in-app surveys, and user interviews.

• Segment by ARR, company size, industry, or subscription tier to identify trends. 

• Track which features drive the highest retention and adoption.

8. Product Performance

Even the best features won’t help if the product is slow or unreliable. Performance affects user satisfaction, retention, and brand reputation. Key factors include:

• Speed: Response times for user actions.

• Uptime vs. Downtime: Ensuring consistent availability.

• Bug Rate: The frequency and severity of technical issues.

9. Retention

Retention measures the percentage of users who continue engaging with your product over time. In Web3, this means tracking active wallets, staking participation, and token holder activity.

. There are two types: 

• User retention → Tracks individual users who return.

• Customer retention → Measures paying accounts that stay subscribed.

Low retention means high churn, making customer acquisition costly. 

How to Measure Retention

• App retention: Tracks product usage over set periods (e.g., 30, 90, 180 days).

• Feature retention: Identifies which features keep users engaged.

• Segmentation: Compare retention across user roles, company sizes, or free vs. paid users.

10. Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) measures the percentage of revenue retained from existing customers over a period, accounting for both expansions (upsells, cross-sells) and churn (downgrades, cancellations). 

NRR provides a holistic view of customer retention and revenue growth. A high NRR (>100%) means your product is not just retaining users but growing through its increased onchain activity.

How to Measure:
4 components to calculate NRR:

• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) from onchain users

• Revenue from upsells (e.g., premium NFT tiers, staking rewards)

• Revenue lost from downgrades (e.g., users unstacking or withdrawing funds)

• Revenue lost due to user churn

Data-driven decision-making is critical, but focusing on the right metrics matters even more. Measuring the right KPIs enables Web3 product leaders to optimize for growth, retention, and long-term sustainability. While raw data is important, the real value comes from analyzing trends, identifying opportunities, and making data-driven decisions.

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